Chapter 89: Why Everyone Should Spend More Time Outdoors

Raemon kissed her, his hands cupped around Octavia’s face and his body pressing into her, pushing her against the car.

After minutes of passionate kissing, he picked her up and carried her away from the driveway, down a path that rounded the house and led to a seating area in her backyard.

Amazingly enough, they did not stop kissing the whole way.

At the back of the house, there was some comfy, outdoor seating around a firepit.

The backyard area was surrounded by a wooden fence and lined with trees, keeping their cozy nook hidden from any outside eyes. It was the perfect spot for their impromptu tryst.

Octavia lay back on one of the couches while Raemon slid her dress up her body with one hand and pulled her underwear down with the other, all the while sprinkling her legs with kisses.

His lips moved up her legs to her naked center and dove in.

Octavia writhed in pleasure at his touch, reveling in the feeling of his tongue inside her and his hands wrapped around her hips, sliding over her skin sensually.

It wasn’t long before she was dragging his face up to her body, unzipping his pants, and sliding her hands to his cock.

She massaged his hardened shaft while his tongue lashed in and out of her mouth, his hands unzipped her dress at the back and traveled up and down her body, beneath her opened dress.

Right before he entered her, right before the explosion of feeling erupted inside her body and she sunk into the blissful place of everythingness, she marveled at the feeling of his body.

There was something different about his touch now. She’d experienced enough of him to know he was skilled at giving a woman pleasure.

But what she felt at that moment went beyond the realms of bodily satisfaction.

She felt a strong urge in him when he made love to her.

That they were two adults lying naked with each other, one putting his genitals into the other, both of them experiencing mind-blowing orgasms—that was only part of the equation.

He came to her ready to give her everything of himself, eager to take what she’d give him.

It was a connection that would last even after the burning waves died down, even when he removed himself from inside her and lay beside her, breathing heavily, but holding her body close to him.

“Is there something about being outdoors that makes sex better?” Octavia asked, panting. She felt Raemon’s head lying against her breasts as he tried to regain his breath as well.

“Maybe it’s been too long since we last did this,” Raemon said.

“We fucked this morning.”

“Exactly.”

She chuckled and placed a hand on Raemon’s head, mindlessly stroking through his hair.

“It worked,” she said.

“What did?”

“This. I completely forgot about how much I hated the function tonight.” Her eyes lit up. “Hey, it’s just like that last time with the Pomeranians!”

Raemon smirked and kissed her neck. “Happy to be of service.”

“And what an amazing service you offer,” Octavia said coyly.

For the next few minutes, they were both content to simply lie there, with nothing but the rustling leaves overhead and the night sky to cover them. Soon, Octavia felt herself getting sleepy.

“I’m sorry.”

Octavia’s eyelids, that had been drooping closed, shot open. Raemon’s face was before her, in the moonlight she could see the intensity of his eyes.

He moved away from her, sitting up on the couch. Octavia sat up as well.

“Okay—what did you do?”

He shook his head. “What I did.” He stared at the empty space before him with solemn eyes. “It’s haunted me for a while—how I acted. You know, back then, when you were my assistant.”

Octavia hugged her knees to her chest. Her dress was bunched up and rumpled around her body with the zip at the back open and the hem scrunched up to her hips.

“That was a long time ago.”

“It doesn’t matter. I treated you…terribly.”

She said nothing but leaned against the backrest of the couch and observed him in deep thought.

“Why did you do it?” she finally asked.

Raemon gave a weak shrug. “I guess…I felt I had to. When we first met—”

“When we literally bumped into each other,” Octavia said.

He allowed the smallest tug at the corner of this mouth.

“Yes…that. After that, I couldn’t get you out of my head. And then a few days later, there you were. At my office. Interviewing for a job, working for me. I didn’t realize it back then, but I was…ecstatic.”

Octavia scrunched up her face. “Really?”

He looked back to her. The way his gaze unwaveringly settled on her she knew he wasn’t lying.

“That was it, the moment I fell for you. It just took me a while to realize it.”

He took one of her hands, weaving her fingers between his own.

“I was in love with you the whole time, even if I didn’t know it. While I ordered you around, made you do all those impossible tasks…even when I said things that weren’t very…polite.

“I couldn’t tell what it was. I’d gotten so used to having people just worship me, but you didn’t know or care who I was. So I felt I had to make you care—for whatever reason.”

Octavia shrugged. “Yeah…you were kind of a dick.”

Raemon raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, you were definitely a dick,” she said. Then she shrugged again. “But anyway, no harm done.”

Raemon’s face became grim. “To you. You didn’t care what I thought. But…for the women before you…”

As his voice trailed off, Octavia could see anguish in his eyes.

“I can’t explain it,” Raemon eventually continued, “but when I kissed you…it was such a liberating feeling. Finally I could let myself feel something again.

“I told myself that it wasn’t permanent—that it was just a passing infatuation. But as time went on…especially when Lucas reappeared…I knew it was more than that.”

“But it wasn’t,” Octavia said. “Not really.”

Raemon considered her words. “Not…completely,” he ruefully admitted. “I felt that…I needed you. I had been drowning in so much emptiness, and then you came. Just being with you made me want more.

“It made me realize something was missing, even though I didn’t know what. I thought that with you around I’d be satisfied.”

He paused, directing his gaze at the hushed, night sky above them.

“I was so sure if I married you, I would be complete. I was also sure you’d say yes. It just never occurred to me you’d say anything other than that.”

“It didn’t occur to a lot of people,” Octavia said coolly.

“I suppose not…but I’m glad you did. It was the kick in the balls that I needed.”

“Happy to oblige,” Octavia said, smiling. “I should have my own special services: ‘the kick in the balls that will set you on a path toward self-discovery.’”

He smiled, then reached for her, pulling her into his arms. Octavia gladly moved toward him, settling herself against his body with her head resting on his shoulder.

His arm wrapped around her, and his fingers stroked her skin.

“After talking to your mother…as I set out on my travels,” Raemon continued, “things just kept on becoming clear to me. How much I hurt. Why I was hurting.

“All the things I felt powerless against—even though I had been considered the most powerful man in the country. But I couldn’t stop feeling guilty about my mother.

“I couldn’t banish the rage I felt over my father or the despair that came with it. I couldn’t stop loathing the man who’d betrayed me—and the restlessness that came with all of that too.

“And to top it off, I had to live this double life where I was worshipped for things that meant nothing to me, praised for being an imitation of something…not for who I truly was.”

“How were you to know?” Octavia said softly, one hand resting on his chest, gently stroking the skin there.

“How was I to know anything?” Raemon sighed. “How was I to know that I only hated my father because I wished he had been around to be a parent to his son?

“I only hated Lucas because I was devastated by his betrayal. And I only became the person I was to cure myself of those feelings.” A weak, short, laugh came from him. “That worked out so well.”

Octavia sat up. She met Raemon’s eyes.

“Raemon…you should see someone.”

“You mean therapy?”

She nodded.

“I thought the same thing.”

“Do…do you want to?”

He gave a tired sigh. “Do I want to dig through all my issues? Not really. But…I would like to be free of them. That’s the only way.”

Octavia leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

“You’ve already accomplished a lot. I can’t even remember the person you were before.” She paused. “Even if we don’t work out, or something, I can still be here for you.”

He took her hand and brought it to his chest.

“Thank you. Not just for that, for saying no to me.”

Octavia couldn’t help grinning. “You’ve got to be the only person who’s happy someone didn’t accept his proposal.”

“Well, if you hadn’t…we wouldn’t be here, would we?”

“Right.” Octavia nodded. “We’d probably have been fucking in some gigantic mansion. Not underneath a tree. Tree sex is way better than mansion sex.”

Raemon did not disagree, instead he pulled her face toward her, concluding the conversation with a deep kiss.

Octavia heard the door open and the jingle of Raemon’s keys as she pulled a carton out of the fridge.

Soon Raemon walked into the kitchen.

“Hey you,” she said. He immediately crossed the room to where she was and kissed her. “How was therapy?” she asked when their lips came apart.

“Good,” he replied. “Tavi, you know we have glasses, right?”

Octavia paused with the open carton of orange juice at her mouth.

“What difference does it make?” she said. “It’s not like you’re afraid of my saliva. You have your tongue in my mouth so often we might as well share a toothbrush.”

Raemon cringed but then gave her a light smile.

“I’ll just make sure I get separate cartons for us the next time I go grocery shopping,” he said.

Octavia wiped an orange juice mustache off her mouth after taking a swig. “Perfect. Compromise. The stuff of strong relationships.”

He poured himself a cup of coffee from the half-full coffeepot on the counter, then joined Octavia at one of the kitchen bar stools.

“I’ll be going to the group therapy session Friday night,” Raemon said, “so I can’t make it for Quentin and Gracie’s thing.”

“That’s okay,” Octavia replied, “but isn’t your group session usually on Thursday night?”

“It is. I’m covering for the Friday night group leader. He has his daughter’s piano recital.”

“So you’re going to lead the session on Thursday and Friday? That’s a lot.” She frowned. “Is Dr. Coates okay with that?”

“Of course.”

Octavia shrugged off the matter and took another swig of juice from the carton. When she finally set the empty carton back down on the counter, she found Raemon staring off listlessly.

“What’s up?” she asked.

He blinked, then turned to Octavia.

“I’ve been thinking. What if I could do something like the group sessions…here?”

“You mean like…here, here? In our house?”

“Yes. It would be an informal meeting, of course, but I would really like to have…a support group type of meeting. Maybe just every other week. I know a few people who would definitely be interested.”

She paused in thought. “That’s a great idea.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You should tell Dr. Coates about that.”

“I did. He agreed with me too. I can lead the discussions and invite people I know. He could probably refer a few other people. We could have a group of guys meet up and just…talk.”

“Go for it,” Octavia said. “If there’s one thing men need to do more of, it’s talk.”

She hopped off the bar stool and started for the kitchen exit.

“I need to send some files off to Gracie. Do you want to just go out for sushi tonight?”

“I was thinking of grilling up some salmon. We should have some left over from last week.”

“Cool.” On her way out, Octavia stopped at the kitchen entrance and turned back around. “By the way, for your support group thing, you might not want to do it on Fridays.”

She grinned with a twinkle in her eye. “That’s when the MMA matches are usually on. You won’t get much talking done with a bunch of girls yelling over the Cam the Crusher’s knockout.”

EPISODE: 90 Chapter 90: (I’m Sure at Many Points Up Till Now It Didn’t Seem Possible, But…) Our Tale Has Indeed Come to an End

^THREE MONTHS LATER^

“Shoot,” Octavia said, glancing at the wallet sitting on the passenger seat beside her.

She made an abrupt left turn at the next intersection, taking a certain cyclist by surprise but not causing any damage to anyone—or getting spotted by the cops.

Within minutes, she was driving back into the parking lot that she’d left Raemon a short while ago.

Raemon looked up when the bell over the door jingled and Octavia bounded through it.

“Octavia, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head and held his wallet up. “Nothing. You forgot this.”

“Hmm, I hadn’t even realized I didn’t have it. Thanks.” He took it from her and put it in his pocket. “You didn’t have to come all the way back.”

Octavia waved his words away and took a seat at one of the bar stools to catch her breath.

“No problem. I’m just going to need a minute. There was no parking here, so I had to go all the way around the block.”

“I’ll get you a glass of water,” Raemon said.

“Hey, Octavia,” Kris, the other barista working the shift with Raemon spoke up as she emerged from the back door. “Dropping off Raemon?”

“I was,” Octavia said, “I mean, I did. But I came back to bring him his wallet.”

“Aww, you have the best girlfriend ever,” Kris said, giving both Octavia and Raemon puppy-dog eyes.

“Doesn’t he?” Octavia said.

Raemon set a large glass of water before Octavia.

“I do,” he said, his regular calm, amused expression in place.

“And you have the best boyfriend ever,” Kris continued. “You know he was promoted to team lead?”

“It was a momentous occasion,” Octavia said, nodding. “I bought him a cupcake to celebrate.” She frowned. “Of course…I also ate the cupcake I bought him…”

“Pretty much everyone was happy about it,” Kris said, “even Travers. And you know how he hates everything.”

“How did you know he was happy about it then?” Octavia asked.

“Because when the manager gave the announcement, he didn’t roll his eyes and scowl or anything. And I think he actually said congratulations to Raemon.”

Octavia looked to Raemon with wide eyes. “Travers congratulated you? Oh. My. God. I should have got you two cupcakes! Or…maybe just not eaten the one…”

Raemon shrugged. “It was nothing. You know, Travers isn’t such a bad guy. We had a pretty long conversation the other day.”

“About what?”

“Medieval torture methodology.”

Kris and Octavia exchanged glances.

“I don’t know whether to be concerned that you work with Travers or that you could talk about things like that with Travers,” Octavia said.

Raemon rounded the counter to stand before Octavia. He placed both hands on her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Neither. Drink up and go, or you’ll be late for work.”

She gulped the water down in seconds, wiped her mouth with one hand, and then hopped off the stool.

“Okay, I’ll be going now,” she announced. “What time am I picking you up again?”

“Whenever you get off work is fine,” Raemon said.

“No, I can be here when you get off. Just tell me when.”

“It’s fine, Tavi.”

Octavia sighed and turned to Kris. “What time does he get off work today?”

“About five thirty.”

Octavia turned back to Raemon with a smile. “I’ll see you at five thirty then.”

They kissed again because it had become a thing they did rather often.

And in public too, oblivious to the people in the café who snuck covert glances at the drop-dead gorgeous barista and the woman who they guessed was his girlfriend. It seemed like an odd pairing.

Raemon watched Octavia until she’d walked out of view before returning behind the counter. One guy was sitting on the bar stools—he’d seen the entire little exchange.

“Hey, man,” he said with a nod toward Raemon. Raemon glanced at him. “Is that your girlfriend?”

“Yes,” Raemon answered.

He snickered. “She sure is…”

Raemon only had to raise an eyebrow to make him reconsider his words.

“Uh…nice. Bringing you your wallet like that.”

Raemon acknowledged this response with a slight nod.

The acne-faced youth adjusted the baseball cap on his head and slid onto the bar stool closer to Raemon.

“So you, like, live with her or something?”

“Yes.”

“You bought a house together?”

“No. It’s hers.”

“Oh…and is your car in the shop or something? Is that why she’s picking you up?”

“No. That’s her car too.”

The youngster snickered again. “Does she own everything? Do you just cook the meals and do the laundry and shit?”

“Yes.”

“Wait…for real?”

“For real.”

He looked Raemon up and down. “What the hell, dude? She basically owns you. You gotta stand up for yourself, you know. Be a man.”

Raemon smirked. “And how exactly would I do that?”

“You need to show her who’s boss, dude.”

“Boss, huh?”

“Exactly. You’re the man. You in charge of everything. If you let some woman just control your life…no one will respect you.”

“And by ‘no one’ you mean…?”

“Everyone. Look, guys can’t respect you if you don’t have some balls, dude. Hell, they’d probably beat the shit out of you.”

The irony of the scrawny, five-foot-four ‘dude’ warning six-foot-five, muscular Raemon about getting the shit beat out of him was lost on the youngster as he imparted his words of wisdom.

Raemon listened attentively, although with an amused expression lurking beneath his eyes.

Meanwhile, Octavia had hopped back into her Prius and was once more heading back to her office.

The one thing that made driving worth it for her into the city was that she had a private parking space waiting for her at her office building.

Since her home was out of the way from the transit system, using a car had become necessary.

Raemon had been a huge help in shopping for the right car—Octavia loathed car dealerships.

Although she suspected Gracie could have brought the price for her new Prius down lower and faster than Raemon did, he’d done a decent job.

He’d done much better than Octavia would have; she hated haggling. Seeing as how Raemon’s workplace was close enough to hers, it worked out best for both of them to take one car.

Sometimes they’d switch it around—he’d take the car and drop her off and then pick her up after work. It really depended on the day.

After months of living together, they’d established a sort of rhythm. It soon felt like Raemon had been a part of her life forever.

She almost always fell asleep in his arms, almost always after a session of passionate lovemaking.

He fell asleep quickly and slept deeply; she loved being lulled to sleep by his steady, even breathing. He always woke up earlier than her.

She knew he’d be up at 5 a.m. and would head straight outside for a morning run.

Then he’d sit on the patio overlooking the garden and meditate for an hour. Then he’d come back to the bedroom and wake Octavia if she wasn’t awake already. She preferred him to her alarm clock.

It was better to be coaxed from sleep by soft kisses on one’s ear than to be yanked from it by the blaring sound of an alarm. Even her house changed once he moved in.

The clothes that would lie on the floor until the next time the cleaners came through began to find their way to the laundry basket.

The garbage disposal that she kept meaning to ask Gracie to come over and fix was magically restored to a working condition.

Both of them kept busy. With her business doing so well, there were some late nights spent at the office.

Sometimes, Raemon would stop by with a latte and whatever pastry had been left over at the end of his shift.

Octavia liked having him sitting in her office with a book of his while she worked late into the night.

But on more than one occasion, she found herself closing the blinds over the glass walls of her office and jumping on top of him.

It would be a whole other hour before she was satisfied enough to get back to work—but then, it wasn’t like she could concentrate after all that.

Aside from the coffee shop, Raemon had his men’s support group.

Every other Wednesday, Octavia would head over to the Juice Factory after work, leaving the house empty and available for the support group meeting.

At the Factory, she’d almost always find Quentin on his way out, heading for her place. Once Quentin heard of the support group, he had to be a part of it.

Gracie and Octavia would spend the evening watching movies or besting each other at video games until they heard the sound of Octavia’s car pulling up to the Factory entrance.

Raemon and Quentin would walk in, and Raemon and Octavia would probably stay a little longer, Quentin insisting they try some concoction he’d been experimenting with and wanted an honest opinion on.

Or Raemon would be curious about Gracie’s new automated system to adjust the angle of the roof solar panels with the trajectory of the sun—and that would take up hours of conversation between them.

Raemon would then drive himself and Octavia home.

From working with the support group, Raemon decided to pursue a degree in psychology. He used his pay and tips from his work to fund the tuition for online courses.

Many nights Octavia went to bed leaving him at the dining table with her laptop open before him, going through lecture notes and highlighting different sections in his textbook.

The next morning he would be full of discoveries and experiment outcomes that he shared with Octavia—

Nietzsche actually said this about this particular human behavior or Freud had this to say about some occurrence of human development.

Octavia listened attentively, though she retained none of it. But it warmed her heart to see him take an interest in something.

Technology, she realized, was dead to him. The only piece of technology he used was a phone—and a flip phone at that.

He used it to make calls and send texts but nothing else. If he needed to complete schoolwork, he borrowed Octavia’s laptop.

When Octavia had broached the subject of buying one for himself, Raemon had flat-out refused.

Seeing the dark cloud that came over his eyes, Octavia didn’t press the matter any further.

Everything about Icarus—everything it had meant to him and done to him—still had a hold on his mind.

It was at moments like that she realized, as stable and content as he seemed, Raemon Kentworth was still being chased by some demons.

They were happy. She had her work, and he had his. He had his friends, and she had hers. And occasionally, they’d invite everyone over for barbecue.

Raemon was pretty good at the grill. Quentin did outrageous things like show up with several different kinds of potato salads.

Octavia and Gracie could at least be responsible for putting the drinks out, then they’d just sit back and watch Raemon and Quentin do the rest.

As the guests arrived, Lauren and her boyfriend (the result of Gracie and Quentin’s unintentional matchmaking), Elle, Muffy, and sometimes even Sierra (don’t ask how that happened).

Yolanda, if she could get time off running her popular hair salon, Yolanda’s, a newly established business that had been made possible by a start-up loan from a certain acquaintance of hers.

Indira was always a welcome guest, of course, and Raemon’s therapist, Dr. Coates, was a good friend by then.

When Octavia’s mother was in the country, she was a welcomed guest. People from Octavia’s work and Raemon’s work would show up. Some friends from Raemon’s support group would come.

And they’d all just have good time drinking beers, eating hotdogs, and rating each of Quentin’s potato salads on the numbered sheets he provided.

It was at times like those that Octavia would happen to glance out the window and catch Raemon’s eye. They did that a lot; it was eerie how often it happened.

She’d return the smile he gave her, right before he went back to flipping the burgers on the grill. But she’d keep staring at him, wondering who this man was that was now such an integral part of her life.

In the past, she’d only known him as a shell of a human—a Frankenstein concoction of the combined minds of the masses.

Then she’d somehow gotten closer to him and in some instances glimpsed a real, human soul beneath the shell of Raemon Kentworth.

But these glimpses were just that, fractions of life where the real thing slipped out from under the fabricated surface. But the real thing was never allowed to stay.

The stage on which the shell of a human existed was not built for anything real—and so these visions of him were banished to wherever it was they stayed.

But he’d changed. It struck her many times as she watched him go about his work, happily telling anyone who asked that he was a barista.

He vacuumed the house, cooked dinner, and did the dishes without being asked or required to.

He spent Wednesday evenings listening to men pour out the fears and anxieties they didn’t feel comfortable sharing with their colleagues, their friends, or their family.

He was loved and respected by all his colleagues.

He picked up extra shifts for the team members who had trouble finding babysitters or if their car broke down. He could strike up a conversation with just about anyone who sat at the counter.

Octavia might have thought all of his goodness would get on her nerves, but then he’d come home at night and fuck her senseless, banishing any possibility of a complaint.

The detached, hurting, ruthless Raemon was truly dead. And the Raemon she had now, well…he was rather growing on her.

“I don’t know,” Octavia confided in Gracie once, “I think I really like the guy.”

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming,” Gracie said.

“But…”

“Aha.”

“But…I don’t think it’s love. I’m okay being with him. But if he just got up and went away…I don’t think I’d be that sad.”

“That sounds harsh.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t be heartbroken. Sure, I’d be sad to lose a…a friend, I guess. A really good sex partner too. And an amazing cook. And such a clean, organized roommate—”

“Okay, focus. Back to the heartbrokenness.”

“What I mean is…I could live without him. I don’t need him or anything.”

“Should it be about needing him?”

“Shouldn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say I ’need’ Quentin. But I do love him.”

Octavia’s eyes almost teared up. “Aww…Gracie.”

“Shut up,” Gracie said. “I mean it. I wouldn’t be living in a Juice Factory if I didn’t love the guy.”

“Bullshit,” Octavia said. “Living in an old Juice Factory is totally the kind of thing you’d do. You can’t lie to me. You love renovating that place just as much as Quentin likes redecorating it.”

“That’s what I mean,” Gracie replied.

“We get each other. He always seems to know how I’m feeling…whether he should give me some space or make me an ice-cream sundae. I like him for everything he does…for everything he is.”

“Wow. Cheesy as fuck.”

“He’s there for me, Octavia. And I’m there for him. It’s not all just yearnings and burning passion.”

“Though that does help things.” Octavia sighed. “But sex isn’t the problem. I’m definitely sexually attracted to him. How could I not be?”

“Do you trust him?” Gracie asked.

“I guess so.”

“Can you depend on him?”

“Um…yeah, I would say that.”

“Does he make your well-being a priority?”

“All the time.”

“There you go,” Gracie said. “I’d go on ahead and fall in love if I were you.”

“Still…I don’t think it’s fair,” Octavia said with a frown.

“What isn’t?”

“Well…he’d been living in this huge lie up until recently. And then he finally stepped out of the bubble and had a chance to…you know…be.”

“Pinocchio became a real boy.”

“Aren’t you the comedian?” Octavia replied dryly. “I’m serious. Sometimes it feels like…I don’t know…that we’re in two very different places in life.

“Like he just started living a year ago, but I’ve been alive this whole time. We’re on different levels of the living scale.”

“And?”

“And…me being up here gives me an advantage, I guess. He’s still learning how to deal with emotions and feelings about everything in his life. He’s still learning how to face things.

“This time without being able to throw money at them and make them disappear.”

“Seemingly disappear,” Gracie said.

“Right,” Octavia said. “Am I willing to commit to someone when the gap between us is just so…wide?”

Gracie shrugged. “At least he’s aware of his inadequacy. And he’s doing the work to get to your level.”

“I guess so. Still…with the way he feels about me, I don’t like having this much power over someone.”

“Quentin’s that way too. It’s kind of cool.”

“Gracie!”

“What? I’m not going to abuse the power, obviously. I’m a relatively good person.”

Octavia snorted. “Only because you’re too lazy to be evil.”

All this came back to her as she drove her car into her parking spot and walked through the entrance to the building.

She waved to the employees that walked by her as she made her way to her office, stopping to have a short chat with Jerome as he was on his way to the design lab.

Once she was in her office, she slung her book bag off her shoulder and dropped it onto the floor, then fell onto her seat. Her first order of business each day was always to check her mail.

Her eyes lit up at the first email in her inbox, which she hurriedly clicked on. Reading through it, her face broke into a grin. She picked up the phone immediately and dialed Gracie’s number.

“Yo,” Gracie answered.

“Where are you?”

“In the lab. What’s up?”

“Did you see the email?”

“No…from who?”

“Lauren. She sent me the picture just now. Brace yourself, Gracie.” Octavia paused. “We’re on the cover of ~Time~!”

“No shit,” Gracie said. “Wait, let me look that up real quick.”

Octavia waited until Gracie’s voice came back on the line.

“Whoa. We really are.”

“Isn’t this amazing?” Octavia practically shrieked.

“Hell yeah, it is. Man, I can’t wait to rub it in my brothers’ faces. Heh, heh, heh.”

“I can’t wait to tell Rae—”

Octavia stopped. At her silence, Gracie said, “Tell who?”

Octavia sat with her phone to her ear, her eyes staring into space in a glazed stupor.

“Are you still alive?” Gracie’s voice asked.

The words brought Octavia back to the present.

“Shit,” she breathed.

“What?” Gracie demanded.

“I fucking love him, that’s what.”

Gracie chuckled. “And it took you this long to figure it out?”

“Shut up,” Octavia snarled into her phone. “I have to go.”

“Drive safe,” Gracie said placidly.

Octavia did her best to drive safely as she sped down the streets. All throughout the drive, she was replaying that moment in her head.

So much for some big, dramatic realization. Instead, it had been a slow, gradual recognition of her love for Raemon.

The growing blur of an image only came into focus with the excited feeling at seeing her and Gracie’s picture on the cover of ~Time~.

And her realizing the first thought that came to her mind was that she wanted to tell Raemon.

She wanted to share that joyous experience with him.

With that realization came others. When she’d been pissed off about her code not working how she planned it, Raemon was the first person she went to.

He’d listen to her rants, no matter how long they took.

He’d agree with her when she claimed whatever programming language she had been forced to work with was the worst thing to happen to humanity since the ~Star Wars~ reboots.

When she’d been overwhelmed with all her projects, he’d been the one to come to her office with coffee and doughnuts.

He’d been the one to stay until 3 a.m. while she worked, sitting by with his psychology textbooks and quietly reading while she worked.

And now that she was unbelievably happy about something, he was the one she wanted to share that with.

Octavia not only realized how much she loved what he did for her, but how much she wanted to do it for him too.

She wanted to listen to his rants (though he never really had any). She wanted to bring him coffee (though it wouldn’t make much sense since he worked in a coffee shop).

She wanted to be excited for him when something good happened to him (and possibly discipline herself to NOT eat his cupcakes).

He was a comforting presence in her life, and though she knew she didn’t necessarily need that, she wanted it.

It took her ages to find a parking spot. She ended up sliding her car into an empty spot at a hotel parking garage. She swore when she saw the sign displaying the rates as she dashed out of the lot.

The place seemed like it was miles away from Raemon’s coffee shop. By the time she burst through the door, for the second time that morning, she was breathing heavily and sweating profusely.

Raemon looked up as soon as she entered. So did everyone else in the room. She made quite an entrance.

“Octavia,” Raemon said, quickly moving around the counter to where she stood, “what is it?”

Octavia looked up into his eyes, breathing heavily. There was nothing but concern in those adorable fiery eyes of his.

She knew he would drop his kind and gentle ways in an instant to break the neck of anyone who dared to threaten her.

She hoped he would be wise enough not to do anything rash—but knowing that he could feel that way made her feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Octavia stepped up to him, grabbed his collar, and pulled his face toward hers, sealing his mouth with a kiss.

As she felt the surprise leave Raemon’s body and he wrapped his arms around her, the sound of cheering from the people in the café bounced off her ears.

She noticed the loudest cheers were coming from the counter where Kris was standing.

When Octavia finally pulled herself from his lips, she looked back up to Raemon with dancing eyes.

“Guess what?” she said excitedly.

“I’m afraid to do anything right now honestly,” Raemon admitted.

“I love you.”

The people around her cheered again and then also clapped. But just like in the movies, Raemon and Octavia were in their own little world.

She felt his arms tighten around her. She noticed the change in his eyes at her words. The warmth that flooded through them and then spread across his face, seeping into his wide grin.

He brought a hand to her cheek and grazed his knuckles over her skin.

“Do you?” Raemon said.

“Yup. I love you, Raemon.”

“What a coincidence. I’m in love with you too, Octavia.”

Octavia melted into the next kiss he gave her, basking in all the emotions bubbling up inside her body. She was breathless by the time they pulled themselves away from each other.

“You know what?” Octavia said, her head pressed against his. “I have a great idea.”

“I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“It can just be something small—no big to-do or anything. And we can invite a few people or no people at all.”

“What are you saying?”

The daring hope in his voice could not be missed.

“I never really thought of myself doing something like this,” Octavia continued to babble, “and I’m definitely not doing anything like wearing a puffy dress. Or having bridesmaids or some shit.

“Well, maybe Gracie—but that’s it. And I guess Lauren too…and also Elle and Muffy, I suppose—but that’s really it. Aw crap! It’s already sounding like a big to-do.”

She sighed. “Fuck it. Let’s get married.”

By now, reader, I think you’ve realized that you’ve been lied to. This story was not, as the title indicated, about a billionaire falling for his assistant.

It was not about THE Raemon Kentworth finding love. A more apt title would have been ~The Destruction of Raemon Kentworth~ or ~How Romance Pinocchio Became a Real Boy.~

Regardless of how it was read, this lengthy tale can be concluded with the definitive statement that, at last, Raemon existed.

As the day ended, with the prospect of Mr. Raemon Kentworth and Mrs. Octavia Wilde, husband and wife, echoing in the air—the soon-to-be married couple marked the dawn of a new beginning…

And the end of this lengthy book…with the only thing appropriate for such a momentous occasion.

They fucked the hell out of each other.

^The End^